Is Your Background Screening Program Consistent?

Recently there’s been quite a bit of controversy concerning the Police and their interaction within their communities. This brought up questions concerning current law enforcement agency policies and what methods can be set up to help resolve this serious issue. One of those questions had to do with the Psych Evaluations that Police take prior to joining the force. All Police Officers are required to take this evaluation to assess their mental stability. Over time, and under certain circumstances, stress jobs have the potential for PTSD which can cause people to react to the stressors of their work. There was a question of whether the Psych Evaluations should be on-going throughout the Police Officers tenure as an added measure of safety.

This question reminded me of a situation that took place with one of my previous employers. As a state contractor there was a strict compliance guideline that required each employee to have a valid driver’s license, registration and proper auto insurance for employment. A savvy manager recognized one employee who typically spent most of his day out in the field was spending more time in the office. This change in behavior was a “red flag” causing the manager to do some further investigating. The investigation revealed a suspended driver’s license due to a DUI. It also revealed a previous DUI the year before. Since this infraction violates requirements of the job, the employee was terminated.

This incident would not have been caught if the manager wasn’t alert. The employee also would probably not have said anything fearing losing his job. However, a consistent on-going Background Screening of Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) would have identified the first DUI avoiding risk to the company had they been audited by the state or a complaint was made by a client.

With this in mind, think about your company’s policies and requirements. Do you have an on-going background screening or drug-testing policy in-place? I recall during my Air Force days they did random drug-testing since drugs was a clear violation of our service.

Throughout an employees tenure with a company, lifestyles change. Keep your company out of the spotlight for potential liability. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your employees know they work in a safe and fair environment.